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I am a USAA member , their site says there is a $2500 incentive and the dealer says it is only $1000? Also have $4500 Eco credit and $1500 BMW Holiday cash

What would be a fair price, my inclination is to start at invoice and subtract the incentives? Then add some fair amount of profit for the dealer? All that said what would be a fair price for this car?

I offered the dealer $54,000 and they thought I was $3000 too low! Any thoughts, comments or coaching here for me? Thank in advance.

I offered the dealer $54,000 and they thought I was $3000 too low! Any thoughts, comments or coaching here for me? Thank in advance.

Well of course they would say that.

A few comments.... first, the reality is that you cannot make "the deal" at every dealership. To get the best deal you must be willing (able) to try several.

Having said that, IMO you need to establish control over the process. Part of this is to prove to them that you have firm knowledge of the pricing. You do this not by tossing out offers- you do this by saying "I am offering $500 over your invoice, with me keeping all incentives- so this will be $54,126" (or whatever the number is.) But list ever item with ever invoice price, subtract the incentives, etc, etc.

And be prepared to walk.

My negotiation for my 20102 was two phone calls, with the discussion basically "I'm thinking 500 profit"..."we need 2000".." I dont want to waste your time, we are clearly too far apart. I'd consider 1k, but it sounds like that wont work" Hold on a minute...yes, we can do that.. the key is by not discussing the invoice, and focussing on the profit, it told him that the only number he could play with was the profit.

If a sales rep will not engage you in this way- if they are talking monthly payments and being evasive with terms- you know they are playing you.

Finally try to ask them as little as possible- information is power, and when you project the image of not needing to ask them anthing you are saying "I know everything". This is incentives, MFs, fees, etc, etc. You can say "I know the MF is ___, and with 7MSDs it will be ___, need you to confirm that is what you'll offer". As opposed to "I read on a forum the MF is ___, can you do that?"

Above is the link to the 2012 X5 pricing guide posted by Jon S. It should help you in taking control over the buying process. And If your willing to purchase elsewhere, you can give Jon and other site sponsors a shout. Best of luck!

I second the advice that you should consider more than one dealer. Your most powerful argument when negotiating the price is being able to say ( and really mean) "No thank you. I have a better offer somewhere else". That sentence can do magic and soften the stance of the most stubborn of GMs. And if you happen to be dealing with one who will not budge no matter what, you walk!

I appreciate everyones help. Yes time to travel is a little short. I agree on your recommendations, ironically Fields owns all the dealers in Orlando and Daytona, which means Ocala or Jacksonville or Tampa. OK thanks!

I appreciate everyones help. Yes time to travel is a little short. I agree on your recommendations, ironically Fields owns all the dealers in Orlando and Daytona, which means Ocala or Jacksonville or Tampa. OK thanks!

Or call a sponsor outside of Florida, set up a PCD- save on the silly Florida tax, and make a weekend trip out of it to Spartanburg!

I second the advice that you should consider more than one dealer. Your most powerful argument when negotiating the price is being able to say ( and really mean) "No thank you. I have a better offer somewhere else". That sentence can do magic and soften the stance of the most stubborn of GMs. And if you happen to be dealing with one who will not budge no matter what, you walk!

Of course you can ALWAYS do this simply by "bluffing" and the dealer won't know the difference. They will ask for the name of who is willing to do that but my typical reply is "It is an out of State BMW dealer" and that usually shuts them up...

Or call a sponsor outside of Florida, set up a PCD- save on the silly Florida tax, and make a weekend trip out of it to Spartanburg!

How can he save tax "Florida"? I think the buyer is taxed based on the location he lives but not based on the location of purchase. so, even if you buy a car from ZERO sales tax state, you still end up paying tax applicable to the state you live.

Of course you can ALWAYS do this simply by "bluffing" and the dealer won't know the difference. They will ask for the name of who is willing to do that but my typical reply is "It is an out of State BMW dealer" and that usually shuts them up...

Yes but the dealer might call your bluff and say OK go get the car from that other dealership. If you really don't have another offer, you're then stuck. It's much better to actually have options B, C, etc. and be ready to walk if you don't like option A.

When I leased my first X5d, I showed the GM at the dealership a list of much better offers I got from other dealerships. He actually called one of the dealerships in front of me and put the call on speaker phone. I think he thought I was bluffing and wanted to "teach me a lesson" or something. The look on his face when the other dealership confirmed the much lower offer they had made me, loudly on speaker phone, was priceless!

Yes but the dealer might call your bluff and say OK go get the car from that other dealership. If you really don't have another offer, you're then stuck. It's much better to actually have options B, C, etc. and be ready to walk if you don't like option A.

When I leased my first X5d, I showed the GM at the dealership a list of much better offers I got from other dealerships. He actually called one of the dealerships in front of me and put the call on speaker phone. I think he thought I was bluffing and wanted to "teach me a lesson" or something. The look on his face when the other dealership confirmed the much lower offer they had made me, loudly on speaker phone, was priceless!

You then walk out the door. NO dealership wants that to happen. Even if they DO let you out the door, they will still call you later to try and do a deal. Bottom line is if that dealer isn't willing to be competitive (right up front), you can ALWAYS find another dealer that is more 'reasonable'. Dealers on this site will work with you. In some ways, I wish I could have leveraged the dealers on here instead of going through my friends son. In the end it's all working out but the local dealer has actually been more problems than solutions (lost one of the keys, had to pay $140 to have them put All Seasons on the car, they scratched a rim when swapping tires, etc...)